


Sleep Without You

by OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor



Series: Naruto Drabbles [27]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, KakaYama - Freeform, M/M, Non-platonic bed sharing, Passage of time, but no smut, support system
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 14:37:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14287080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor/pseuds/OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor
Summary: Glimpses of Kakashi and Yamato over the years.





	Sleep Without You

**Author's Note:**

> Author has not finished Shippuden

**18**   
     When Kakashi stormed off with Tenzo in tow, he didn’t fully know what he intended to do. He only knew that he wasn’t going to leave Tenzo in Danzo’s clutches for one more night.  
     “Where are we going?” Tenzo asked, trotting after Kakashi. Kakashi’s mind whirled, thinking about all the details that would have to be ironed out, the conversations he would need to have with the Hokage. But it was too late for any of that tonight.   
     “Home,” he said simply. Tenzo didn’t ask any more questions as Kakashi led him across the darkened rooftops of Konoha. He paused outside the window of his apartment, using his chakra to check the interior before undoing the jutsu sealing the window and stepping inside. Tenzo followed him, wide eyes trying to take in everything at once. Kakashi winced at the state of the apartment. Dirty clothes were strewn across the floor and the sink was filled with dishes. He opened the fridge and winced.   
     “If you want something to eat, we’ll have to order out,”   
     “I’m fine,” Tenzo said, standing quietly in the middle of the room.   
     “Make yourself at home,” Kakashi said, gesturing to the small space. “It’s not much, but it’s a place to sleep. We’ll deal with everything else in the morning. Oh!” Kakashi pulled a scroll from his hip pouch and summoned his hounds. He knelt down to pet them all, talking quietly to them.   
     “Come say hello,” he said to Tenzo. Tenzo held out a hand for the ninken to sniff, but he looked at Kakashi with confusion.   
     “They’re family,” the older ninja explained. Leaving Tenzo with the hounds, he dug through his dresser, finding a spare pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt for Tenzo.   
     “Bathroom’s the only door in the place,” Kakashi said, handing the clothes to Tenzo. The younger ninja gave the hounds one last pet and shuffled into the bathroom. Kakashi quickly changed into his own pajamas, adding his dirty clothes to the pile on the floor and his list of things to deal with later. The bathroom door opened and Tenzo stepped out, absolutely swimming in Kakashi’s clothes. A small smile snuck onto Kakashi’s face.   
     “Wall or edge?” Kakashi asked, gesturing to the mattress on the floor. Tenzo cocked his head.   
     “Do you want to sleep against the wall or on the edge?” Kakashi clarified. “Not that the dogs won’t be all over no matter where you sleep.”   
     “Oh, wall, I guess,” Tenzo said. He scrambled into the bed, and Kakashi wondered if he’d ever slept in anything other than a ROOT barracks cot. With a shake of his head, Kakashi crawled into bed next to Tenzo.   
     “Bull, lights?” The massive bulldog pawed the light off, then padded over to lie down next to Kakashi, with the rest of the pack fitting themselves around the two boys where they could find space. Sometime in the middle of the night, Kakashi woke up to Tenzo shivering. He yanked on the blanket, pulling it away from whichever hound had stolen it, until he could cover himself and Tenzo again. Tenzo slept curled in a ball, trying to make himself small and unnoticeable even in sleep. His forehead pressed against Kakashi’s shoulder, his knees against Kakashi’s hip. Kakashi smoothed the long hair and tried not to worry about what the morning would look like. But he promised himself this: he would look out for Tenzo.

**21**  
     Kakashi was drunk. Tenzo was very very sober. He sighed, catching Kakashi as he staggered.  
     “Senpai, you know better than this,” he chided, even though Kakashi wouldn’t remember in the morning. Wrapping his arm around Kakashi’s waist, Tenzo led him back to his own tiny apartment. Kakashi was in no shape to be left unattended. Kakashi got sad when he was drunk, and Tenzo could feel it, like a physical weight. He mentally cursed his friends for going out and getting trashed, and leaving him to deal with the consequences. (He was the youngest in the group, he always dealt with the consequences.) Asuma got happy, Guy didn’t really change at all, Anko tried to dance on tables. But when Kakashi crossed a certain line, he went straight from cheerfully buzzed to depressed. Tenzo wouldn’t admit to anyone how much it scared him, seeing the unfiltered brokenness is Kakashi’s eyes. Tenzo undressed him like he would a child, knowing Kakashi was too out of it to manage for himself. He fumbled through the bottom drawer of his dresser, the one that held Kakashi’s clothes, until he came up with a pair of pajama bottoms. Turning off the light, he scooted on to the bed, pulling Kakashi after him. It was always like this, Tenzo against the wall, Kakashi on the edge. Tenzo tugged Kakashi toward him, resting his chin on top of Kakashi’s head. He didn’t say anything about the silent tears soaking into his shirt, just held Kakashi a little tighter. Maybe he couldn’t chase the demons away, but he could hold the line.

**23**  
     They didn’t speak. Numb, Kakashi thought, I think we’re both numb. The horror of the Uchiha massacre the horror of what their teammate, former teammate, had done was too much to be borne. He sat on the edge of the bed, pulling a silent Tenzo into his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around Tenzo, not sure which one of them the embrace was holding together. Tenzo’s arms snaked around his waist, holding him just as tightly. The hounds moved uneasily around the apartment, nosing Tenzo and Kakashi gently in concern. Neither slept that night, just holding each other, feeling each other's heartbeat, the pounding reminder that they were still alive.

**24**  
     “So you’re… leaving?” Tenzo asked, carding his fingers through Kakashi’s silver hair. Tenzo sat, back pressed into the wall while Kakashi rested against his chest.   
     “Not leaving, exactly, just… Not ANBU anymore. Sarutobi wants me to train genin.” Kakashi winced. “Me, train genin.”  
     “Well, you trained me,” Tenzo said.   
     “No, I trained with you. You were already older than the kids he’s trying to saddle me with when we got you away from Danzo.” Tenzo’s fingers paused for just a moment at the mention Danzo and Kakashi tilted his head back to check on him. Tenzo gave him a small smile and went back to playing with his hair.   
     “That was a long time ago,” he said, resuming his petting. Kakashi closed his eyes.   
“Yeah, I suppose it was,” Kakashi said. He sighed again. “What am I supposed to do with genin?”   
     “Teach them how to be good ninja, I suppose,” Tenzo said.   
     “So turn children into murderers, like we were?” Kakashi asked harshly. Tenzo cupped his cheek, waiting until Kakashi looked at him.   
     “No. You teach them to be good people. Teach them everything you’ve learned about being human, and staying human in this shinobi world of ours. Teach them what matters.”

**26**  
    Tenzo was already asleep when Kakashi got back from his first day with Team 7. He moved quietly around the apartment, stripping off his clothes and placing them in the laundry basket, a habit Tenzo had fought so hard to teach him. He wriggled carefully under the covers, pressing up against Tenzo’s back.   
     “Did you keep this batch?” Tenzo asked sleepily.   
     “I didn’t mean to wake you,” Kakashi said, pressing a light kiss to the back of Tenzo’s head.   
     “I didn’t mean to fall asleep before you got home,” Tenzo said. “So who did Sarutobi give you this time?” Kakashi snuggled closer to Tenzo before he answered.   
     “Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha,” he said, pressing his face in between Tenzo’s shoulder blades. He could feel Tenzo stiffen.   
     “How are you doing with that?” He asked.   
     “They passed my test,” Kakashi said. “It’s a start. They’re… A handful, I can tell already. I’m not sure I can actually do this, Tenzo. The nine tails Jinchuriki, the last of the Uchihas…” Tenzo squeezed Kakashi’s hand.   
     “You can do this, Kakashi. I know you can.”  
     “You always believe in me,” Kakashi grumbled. “I don't know if that counts.”  
     “It counts even more because I make that choice,” Tenzo fired back. “Now go to sleep. You have genin to train in the morning.”

**30**  
     “I don’t know if I can do this,” Tenzo whispered against Kakashi’s collarbone. “I don’t know if I can lead your team. Or any team, for that matter.”  
     “You’ve been leading your own ANBU squad for years now,” Kakashi reminded him.   
     “They’re not your kids,” Tenzo countered.   
     “Our kids now,” Kakashi said, and Tenzo gave a strangled laugh.   
     “You’ll do better than I do,” Kakashi said, his voice quiet.   
     “Senpai.” They’d had variations of this conversation many times over the years.   
     “Tsunade generally knows what she’s doing,” Kakashi said, pretending that he wasn’t shifting the conversation. Tenzo let him do it.   
     “I suppose it does make sense, with me being able to suppress the nine-tails.”   
    “My Tenzo is so talented,” Kakashi murmured, nuzzling Tenzo’s hair.   
     “You’re ridiculous,” Tenzo huffed.

**30**  
     Tenzo’s arms gripped Kakashi like a vice, and he sobbed into the older man’s chest.   
     “Shhh, shhh,” Kakashi hummed. “It’s all right. I’m here. I’m here.”  
     “But you weren’t!” Tenzo choked out. “You were gone, I lost you, I wasn’t even here..!” His words were lost in sobs again. Kakashi continued to pet his hair gently, to reassure him with his touch that he was still here.

**39**   
     “How glad are you to hang up those Hokage robes?” Tenzo asked, pulling Kakashi firmly against his chest as the other slipped into bed.   
     “Tenzo, I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful for anything in my life.” Tenzo’s laugh rumbled against Kakashi’s back.   
      “And what are you going to do with your life, now?” Tenzo asked, half teasing, half serious.   
     “I thought maybe I’d try my hand at writing,” Kakashi said, the words coming easily in the dark.   
     “I think you’d be good at that,” Tenzo said softly, his words ghosting over the back of Kakashi’s neck. “Just promise me one thing: if you pick up where Jiraiya left off, use a pen name.” Kakashi grinned in the darkness.   
     “Only for you, love.”


End file.
